The Mark of A Slave
by Kasa no Miko (shards_of_dewprism@yahoo.com)

All the Threads of Fate characters portrayed here are property of Squaresoft, Ltd. Except for those that I originally created. And the [relic]'s mine, ya hear? MINE! Mwahahahahahaha...er, let's get on with it.

 

CHAPTER II- Into the Bowels of Hell 

“How do you suppose we get to the Western Desert, Mr. Know-It-All?” Mint smirked sardonically at Keizl as the group approached Carona Town.

Keizl ignored the remark and replied, “By air, of course. Or by land, if you wish. However, as I recall in my Geography class, Western Desert is plagued by countless dangers, and the weather itself is capricious, ranging from dead calms to lethally devastating sand tsunamis. And one must never forget the scorching heat during the day and freezing temperatures at nights.”

Mint gazed wide-eyed at him with jaw dropped open.

“Doesn’t sound too bad,” Rue murmured beside them.

This caused Mint to regain her wits and glare at him. “Easy for you to say, weirdo. You can’t feel a thing even if someone stuck you in a freezer and turned you into an ice block. You’re lucky being a doll.”

Rue cast his eyes down and said softly in a somewhat sad, wistful tone, “That’s not what I think.”

“Oh my god! Am I seeing things?! Is it really the both of you again?”

Mint and Rue glanced up ahead of them to see a red-headed figure waving at them at the gate.

“Hey, it’s Rod,” Rue recognized.

The aforementioned fighter/weaponsmith/pilot met them halfway, a spotted puppy bounding at his heels. “Yo, what’s up? I had a feeling we’d meet again!” Rod declared. “Especially you, Rue. I told you I’d always find you by your heart.”

Mint rolled her eyes at the “heart” business, while Keizl seemed perplexed. “Heart? I don’t understa-”

Rod turned to him. “Hey there. You must be Keizl, the guy whom Mrs. Cartha has been ranting on about when I bumped into her. Did you know that she actually described you? I’m Rod. Glad to meet ya!” He shook Keizl’s doubtful hand.

“Ah, Rod! Just the man I was looking for,” Klaus declared as he and his family caught up to them. “Do you still have your transportation with you?”

Mint snapped her fingers. “Yeah! Where’s your Pinto?”

Rod glared at her, his eyebrow twitching angrily. “I told you...” he said through gritted teeth. “It’s called the-”

“Pulsar Inferno Typhoon Omega,” Mint drawled with him. “Yeah, yeah, I know. Pinto.”

Rod sighed in defeat. “Whatever. Anyway, it’s down at the river. Why? What do you need it for?”

“To get to the Western Desert,” Rue replied.

Rod scratched his head. “I don’t know if it could take you that far...And besides, it’s the Western Desert! What would you want to do there?”

“We are in pursuit of an Aeon [relic], my good man,” Keizl answered. “Perhaps you could take us to the most accessible town there...” 

“It makes me wonder...” Mint commented. “Who’d wanna live there?”

“Ahh, lots of merchants and traders reside in that area,” Keizl informed her, adjusting his glasses. “You see, the Western Desert is bountiful when it comes to valuable metals such as gold, silver, copper, and sometimes, diamonds can be excavated from under the ground.”

Mint’s eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. “Gold?! Diamonds?! What the hell are we waiting for?!” She grabbed Rue’s wrist and dashed towards the riverside. “To the desert!”

Everyone raised an eyebrow as the duo disappeared around the corner.

“Um...” Rod started to say, scratching his head. “I don’t think I even agreed to take you guys there...”

************************

After several moments of luck-wishing, last-minute preparation and tearful goodbyes (on Mrs. Cartha’s part), Rue, Mint and Keizl buckled their seatbelts as Rod gunned the engine of the Pulsar Inferno Typhoon Omega, slamming everyone hard into their seats.

They torpedoed down the river for a few moments before Rod flipped the switch to activate all ten cannon orbs in the sorcerous drive. The vehicle stopped for a while, then lurched suddenly into the air, sending Keizl’s glasses askew on his face.

“IYAHH!!!” Keizl exclaimed as he clung on for dear life. “Someone should have warned me this boat would take off with a jolt!”

“Whaddaya mean ‘this boat’?!” Rod demanded. “For your information, it’s called Pulsar Inferno Typh- ack!...bit mah thongue...”

************************

After four hours of breath-taking scenery, scientific lectures [thanks to Keizl, who just couldn’t seem to shut up], and sore butts, there was a significant rise in the temperature, and the forests and plains below them were replaced with vast expanses of searing ochre sand.

“Alright! We made it!” Rod whooped.

“What?! Already?!” Mint gasped.

“Pardon me, Princess Mint,” Keizl spoke up. “But let me remind you that the Western Desert is a wide tract of land spreading hundreds of miles in all directions. To find a single [relic] here would be like, as the old saying goes, ‘finding a needle in a haystack’.”

“Is there a town nearby?” Rue inquired from the backmost seat. “Surely, some of the villagers might have heard of rumors about this [relic].”

“Hmm...you are right, Sir Rue.” Keizl turned to the redhead in front of him. “My good man, do you happen to know of a nearby village or kibbutz or dwelling of some sort?”

With one hand on the steering wheel, Rod bent down to retrieve a piece of paper from a pile of similar manuscripts at his feet. “Yeah, there’s a city nearby. Ephresia? Something like that.”

“Whoa,” Mint remarked. “You’ve got a map of this place?”

“Hey, I’m a traveler,” Rod replied. “I collect maps.”

Rod maneuvered the vehicle deeper into the desert. Several minutes later, he announced the one statement that they had been dreading for the entire journey...

“We’re running out of fuel.”

“What?! Already?!” Mint gasped.

Keizl tried to restrain her. “Calm down, everyone. I am certain there is enough fuel for us to get to the city in time...”

“Sorry, scholar boy,” Rod corrected. “We still have fifteen miles more to go, and the remaining fuel will only take us about five miles further.”

“That means...we’ll have to walk the rest of the way there,” Rue concluded.

A heavy silence fell upon the group for a few moments, until Mint wailed in despair.

“TEN MILES?! You expect us to survive TEN MILES in the boiling hot desert?! With no food or water?!”

“Surely some other travelers will chance upon us...” Keizl assured her.

“Yeah, chance upon our rotting corpses!” Mint retorted. “Can you stop being so optimistic for once?!”

“Can you stop being so pessimistic for once too?!” Keizl countered.

Before their bickering could explode into a fullblown deathmatch, Rue calmly addressed Rod. “Take us as far as you could go.”

“Roger that, Rue,” Rod grinned. “I knew you had the heart to say that.”

“Puh-lease...” Mint groaned.

************************

“I gotta take this baby down now before we completely run out of fuel and crash,” Rod proclaimed about five miles later.

“What?! Already?!” Mint gasped.

Rod turned around to glare at her. “Can you NOT say that everytime I announce something?! It’s grating on my nerves, y’know.”

“ROD! LOOK OUT!” Keizl shrieked, gesturing wildly towards the front of the craft.

Rod swiveled around just in time to yell as a silver blur collided with the Pulsar.

The vehicle spun out of control, then Rod finally regained his wits and promptly grabbed the wheel...however, not in time.

The explosion of sand around them as the Pulsar crashed into a dune was coupled with the group’s screams and vociferations. And as suddenly as it began, the cacophony died down, and everyone realized that they were on the ground.

“MY BABY!!!” Rod was the first to leap out of the vehicle. “MY BABY CRASHED!!!”

“It doesn’t look so bad,” Rue reassured the panicked fellow as he climbed out. “It seems to be repairable.” He turned to help a stunned Keizl out of his seat.

“Way to go, doofus!” Mint interjected, leaping out of the wreck. “You just busted your own Pinto. It’s all your fault.”

“No, it’s not!” Rod protested vehemently. “If I remember, you were the one who was ticking me off with your stupid remarks.”

“Stupid remarks?!” Mint responded. “It wasn’t my fault you decided to turn around.”

“Only to shut you up!”

“Jerk!”

“Idiot!”

“Dumbass!”

“Bit-”

“AHEM!!!”

All eyes turned to the figure standing before them, garbed in a white tank top, loose black pants and knee-high tanned hide boots. A royal blue cloak, pinned on one shoulder with a gold emblem, was draped across his chest, its hood obscuring his facial features. Hugging diagonally around his hips was a wide leather belt, unto which a money bag, a water pouch, a sheathed blade and other equipment were strapped on.

The stranger, who looked about Rue’s age and height, took a step forward, then pulled back the hood of his cloak, revealing honey-colored hair with a stubby sprout of a ponytail at the back and soulful green eyes set on nicely tanned skin.

“Um...I’m sorry. It was my fault,” he stated in a shy, apologetic voice. “My dragon, Ginseihin, went out of control back there, you see...”

A silver winged reptile behind him snorted, swishing its slender tail about lazily.

“...By the way, my name’s Esuo.” Smiling, the youth stuck out a gloved hand.

Rod glanced at the others before stepping forward to shake Esuo’s hand. “Hi...I’m Rod, that’s Rue, Keizl and Mint.”

“I’m the Princess of East Heaven Kingdom,” Mint added smugly.

Esuo’s eyes widened. “Whoa...the East Heaven Kingdom?! I’ve heard about that place! My father has been trading with them for the past ten years.”

“Your father’s a merchant?” Keizl inquired.

“Only the head of the Desert Guild!” Esuo declared proudly. However, a shadow of pensiveness flickered on his face, then vanished, as if only in passing. Esuo’s smile widened, then said, “How about if I take you all to meet him? He’ll have some men repair your aircraft, and perhaps aid you in your travel. I’m sure he can’t wait to have an audience with Her Highness.”

                Rod perked up at the sound of repairs, Keizl smiled at the thought of receiving aid on their quest for the [relic], and Mint held her chin up proudly at the mention of Her Highness. Rue...said nothing.   

 

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Finally! My inspiration has kicked in and has motivated me into continuing this fic. For a moment there, I was thinking of giving up, but then I chanced upon this fic [which was buried in my file folders] and just felt like typing a continuation. So here it is. ^^;; Also, Japanese readers will note that "Ginseihin" means "silver". 

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